Xiaomi Gallery Recycle Bin: Where to Find, How to Open and Restore Deleted Files

Have you accidentally deleted an important photo on Xiaomi and don't know where to look for a shopping cart in the gallery? Or want to set up automatic garbage removal, but do not find the right section? This problem is familiar to many owners of Redmi, Poco or Black Shark smartphones - the MIUI interface changes regularly, and even experienced users sometimes get lost in the settings.

In this article, we will discuss all the ways to access the shopping cart in the standard Xiaomi gallery (including hidden methods for different versions of MIUI 12-15), explain how to recover deleted files, and show how to configure auto-cleaning to avoid clogging the memory of the smartphone, and learn what to do if the shopping cart suddenly disappeared after an update or why some files disappeared forever.

Where is the basket in the gallery Xiaomi: the standard way

In most versions of MIUI (starting with the 12th), the gallery basket is hidden in the app menu to find it:

1. Open the standard Gallery app (an icon with colored squares).
2. Slip along three horizontal lines (☰) in the lower right corner or swipe to the right to open the side menu.
3. In the list, select the Recycle Bin item (sometimes called Recently Deleted).

If the item is not on the menu, check:

• 📱 Version MIUI: into MIUI 13/14 The path may be different (see the next section).
• 🔄 Gallery Updates: Visit the Play Market → My apps. → Gallery and update to the latest version.
• 🗑️ Storage settings: if the basket is disabled, it must be manually activated (instruction below).

The Recycle Bin stores files for 30 days (by default), and then automatically deletes them. You can change the time limit, and we'll talk about that in the Settings section.

Why the basket disappeared: 5 reasons and solutions

If you don’t find a shopping cart in the Xiaomi gallery, the problem may be due to one of these reasons:

🔍 Advice MIUI 14/15 (HyperOS: If the cart doesn't show, try clamping your finger on an empty space in the gallery and select Show Hidden Albums.

⚠️ Note: if you deleted files through Explorer (not the gallery), they do not fall into the basket and are deleted immediately.

How to recover files from Xiaomi shopping cart

To return deleted photos or videos:

1. Open the basket in the gallery (instruction above).
2. Select the files you want to recover (tap and hold on one file, then mark the rest).
3. Click on the Restore icon (down arrow or folder icon).
4. Select an album to save (such as Camera or Downloads).

📌 Important nuances:

• 🔄 Recovered files are not returned to the original album – they need to be moved manually.
• ⏳ If the file was in the basket for more than 30 days, it is deleted irrevocably (if there was no backup in the Mi Cloud).
• 📁 Videos and photos are restored separately – you can’t choose both types at the same time.

Check if the storage period has expired (30 days)

Make sure that the file has not been deleted through the Explorer

Restart your phone and try again.

Try to restore via Mi Cloud (if you have synced)-->

If files are not restored, try an alternative method:

1. Connect your phone to your PC via USB (in File Transfer mode).
2. Open the folder MIUI → Gallery → Trash (or.trash for older versions).
3. Copy the necessary files to the computer.

Recycle Bin Settings: How to Change the Shelf Life and Disable Auto Cleaning

By default, the files in the bin are stored for 30 days, but this can be changed.

1. Open the gallery and go to the ☰ → Settings → Basket.
2. Select Auto Cleanup.
3. Set the right time: 1 day, 7 days, 30 days or Never.

⚠️ Warning: If you choose Never, the cart will fill up endlessly, taking up the memory of the phone.

Also in the settings of the basket you can:

• 🗑️ Clean the Recycle Bin manually – click Clear Everything (files will be deleted irrevocably!).
• 📊 See statistics - how much space is taken up by deleted files.
• 🔒 Block the basket with a password (available in the MIUI 14+).

💡

If you frequently delete a photo by mistake, turn on the option of Deletion Confirmation in the gallery settings (path: Settings → Additional → Confirm Deletion).

Recycle Bin in Mi Cloud: How to Recover Files from the Cloud

If you synced the gallery to Mi Cloud, deleted files can be stored in the cloud bin to return them:

1. Open the Mi Cloud app (or go to i.mi.com).
2. Sign in with the same account as on your phone.
3. Go to the Gallery section → Basket.
4. Select files and click Restore.

🔹 Features of the cloud basket:

• 🕒 Files are stored for 60 days (twice as long as in the local shopping cart).
• 📤 Recovered files are automatically uploaded back to the phone gallery.
• 💾 The volume of the cloud basket depends on your Mi Cloud tariff (free - 5 GB).

⚠️ Note: If you delete a file from both the local recycle bin and the Mi Cloud, you can only restore it through specialized programs (for example, DiskDigger or Recuva) within the first day after deleting it.

What to do if the cart is empty and the files are gone

If you are sure that the files were in the cart, but now they are not there, check these points:

1. Storage period: 30 days may have passed and files are automatically deleted.
2. Manual cleaning: You or someone else could press Clear everything.
3. Phone reset: After resetting to factory settings, the basket is cleared.
4. MIUI Update: Sometimes the cart is reset after the upgrade.

🛠️ Recovery methods:

• 🔍 Check backups in Google Photos or Mi Cloud.
• 💻 Use a PC: Connect your phone and scan your memory with programs like EaseUS MobiSaver.
• 📱 Check Hidden Folders: Sometimes files are moved to.thumbnails or DCIM/.cache.

Comparing Xiaomi’s cart with other brands

The functionality of the cart in Xiaomi is different from other manufacturers.

🔎 Xiaomi offers one of the most flexible options for customizing the cart, especially if you use the Mi Cloud.However, Google and Apple give more time to recover (60 days vs. 30).

💡

If you lose files frequently, enable sync with Mi Cloud and set a maximum storage life in the Recycle Bin (30 days) which will increase your chances of recovery to 60 days (30 locally + 30 in the cloud).

FAQ: Frequent questions about the cart in the Xiaomi gallery